Vehicle-lamp



J. W. BROWN.

VEHICLE LAMP.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 27. 1919.

Patented Nov 16, 1920.

PATENT- GFFliZ 3F C-OLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE JOHN W. BESLQW'NCZBHPAEIY, 0E COLUMBUS, OHIO, A'COBPORATIGN' 0F DHIQ.

VEHICLE-LAMP.

Specifl'cati'bn of Letters Patent.

iuation filed September 27, 1919. Serial No. 326,788

To all wile/n it may concern:

Be it lmovrn t JOHN W. BRowN, a citizen of the United States, residingat C0- lumbus, in the county of Franklin and State Ohio, have ii ventedcertain new and useful lmjrovemenis in Vehicle Lamps, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relat s broadly to vehicle lamps, and has particularreference to lamps of the type employed as head lights for automobiles.I

The object of the present invention resides essentially in the provisionof novel means for effecting the securing of the door of the lamp infirmly united relationship with the body or casing thereof and toperform this result in such manner that the reflector of V the lamp willbe securely held within said chattering therein.

Another object of the invention resides in roviding novel interlockingdevices between the door of the lamp and said casing, said devicespermitting the door to be connected with the casing by mere longitudinalmovement of said door and Without involving; the necessity of rotating"the latter to casing and prevented from vibrating or effect itsfastening.

ither objects of the invention reside in a lamp which may beeconomically produced, of few and simple parts and wherein'the variouselements of the lamp when assembled are firmly and securely held intheirrespective positions and in the provision ofpositi'rc and reliablemeans for retaining the elements their operative positions.

lVith these and other objects in view, as will appear as the descriptionproceeds, the invention accordingly consists in the novel features ofconstruction, combinations of elements. and arrangement of partshereiner to be fully described and to have the L8 accompanying drawing,forming a T111711; of his specification, and inwhich similar'charactersof reference denote like and corresponding parts: v

' is a vertical longitudinal sec- Figure 1 tional view talzen through avehicle lamp of a lamp door and illustrating its loclrln beyond oroutside of col e rhereol pointed out in the appended s i and then byrotating the same, the

constructed in accordance witnthe principles of the present invention,

F ig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view, a closing more particularly theintcrlocl elements between the the door thereof, 7

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view projection,

Fig. 2% is a fragmentary detail view, e" ing a portion of the casing andthe actua n knob.

Referring more particularly to the details of the present invention, useis made of a vehicle lamp 1. form, consists of 2 preferably parabolicalshaped cas formed from thin sheet met and having an outer and open end.in the present instance the rim of the casing is inwardly bent so as toprovide an annular flange 8, the plane of which being locatedsubstantially at right angles to the loo tudinal axis of the casing. Itis stated that the flange 3 is of annular formation, however, thisformation is optional, as it will appear as the description proceedsthat the flange 3 could be in the nature of a series of projectionsext-ending inwardly from the casing instead of the annular contiguousformation shown and described. Therefore, by the term flange I mean anyinwardly extending projection or formation either integral or otherwiseupon the rim of the casing 2. Situated within thecas ng .1? is the usualparab'olical reflector 1-. in t' s in stance the reflector is formed toco..,,1ise a peripheral flange 5,, which is arranged to seat directlyupon the flange 3. The flange. 5 is provided with a grooved portion 6 inwhich a circular gasket 7 is seated, The portion 6' is preferablylocated on a plane the flange 5, in order that the gasket 7 will beappreciably from the flange 5. If desired, said flange 5 may be providedwith circumferential 'cesses8, which are of suflicient area to rc--ceive a plurality of tongues 9 which are car-- ried upon the casingflange 3. l /ianifestly, by seating the reflector upon the flange 3portions n. casing of the lamp and This lamp, in its preferred of theflange contiguous tothe recesses 8 nay be inserted bet-ween the outerends of the tongues 9 and the flange 3. In this manner, the'tongucs 9will consist in serving to retain the reflector in secured relationshipwith the casing. It will of course beunder-- body 11 which comprises anannular horiii ti Zontal wall 12 and a vertical annular wall 13, thewall 12 being disposed so as to overlie and surround the rim portion ofthe casing 2 and is provided with an inwardly directed head 14 on itsrim. The vertical wall 13 is, in turn, provided with a circular openingover which is fitted a transparent panel or lens 15, which is retainedin position by providing the inner face ofthe wall 13 with a pluralityof resilient prongs 16, which contact and engage with the periphery ofthe lens so as to hold the latter in secured relationship with the door.When the parts of thevlamp are assembled it will be obvious that theinner face of the lens 15 will press upon the gasket 7 and in thismanner a seat is provided for the door which will be of a resilientnature and also capable of sealing the interior of the lamp so as toprevent the ingress of dust or other extraneous material, thus servingto preserve the finely polished surface of the reflector.

In order to firmly and positively retain the door 10 in securedrelationship in connection with the casing .2'and at the same time tolock the reflector 4 therein, said door 10 in this instance is providedwith an inwardly directed and rigidly mounted stud or projection 17,which extends from the horizontal wall 12 of the door and occupies aposition substantially parallel with the flanges 3 and 5. To receive theprojection 17. the casing 2 has its rim provided witha slot 18 whichextends parallel with the longitudinal axis of the lamp. This slot isprovided with a widened entrance portion and a restricted inner portion,the widened portion serving to facilitate registration between theprojection and theslot. he observed that the projection may be insertedinto said slot by merely pressing the door inwardly and longitudinallyofthe casing 2, and that the door will be prevented from rotatingaxially about the casing 2 by the fact that the stud 17 is positionedwithin the slot 18.

To effect the registration of the projection and slot that portion ofthe casing 2 diametrically opposite to the slot 1.8 is provided with arectangular opening 19,

It will movable latching device 25.

of the opening 19. Therefore, in assembling the lamp, the beaded riml-ll ot the horizontal wall 12 ot the door is initially placed incontact with that portion oi the hooked end. 20 of saidiastening memberwhich projects exteriorly of the casing 2. By this association of partsa. fulcrum is provided for the lower portion of the door. and then byoscillating said door with the end 20 as a pivot, the stud 17 may becaused to enter the slot 18. it will be observed; however. that theengagement of the panel or lens 1.5 upon the gasket 7 will cause saiddoor to move outwardly thus placing the spring 2i under tension andserving to insure a close contact between said lens and the gasket toinsure the sealing of the reflector.

To look the stud 17 within the slot 18 and to resiliently draw the doortoward the casing 2. the interior of said casing, opposite to thefastening member 21, is provided with In this instance, the device 25 isin the form of a thin metallic plate and has its outer end equipped witha hook 27, which is movable toward or I away from the slot 18 so as-toefl'ect the opening or closing; of the latter as regards the stud 17.The inner end ot the device 25 is connected with an element 28 which isslidably mounted within a fixed bearing 29 protruding inwardly from thecasing" 2. The inner end of the element 28 is provided with a' pin 30and between the bearing 29 and the pin 30 there is interposed a coilspring 31 which normally; tends to draw the latch device inwardly. Themovements of the device are controlled by providing the same with amanipulating knoo and located exteriorly of the casing 2. said knobbeing'formed with a threaded extension 33 which operates in a bayonetslot 3 formed in the casing 2 and is threadedly received within anopening" provided in the device When the extension oi the knob issitnatcd within the lateral branch 35 of the bayonet slot the hookshaped end 27 of the latch device will be clear of the slot 18 so thatthe projection 17 may readily enter said slot." When this isaccomplished the knob 32 is rotated laterally so that the extension 33will be alined with the longitudinally tending branch of the bayonetslot 3%. When this alinement of partsv is etlected it will be observedthat the hooked ends 27 of.

the latch device will be brought into sucli position as to close theslot 18 so as to pro vent Withdrawal of the projection 17. Heavever, thespring 31 is then free to act upon the device -25 so that the latterwill be retracted by drawing the extension 33 longitudinally of the slot34. This results in the engagement of the hook 2-7 with the stud 17under the influence of the spring so that the resilient pressure'of thespring 31 will serve to draw the door 10 toward the casing 2 thusinsuring a firm resilient engagement between the lens 15 and the gasket7. To" release the door from locked engagement with the casing 2, theabove operation is simply reversed and this is brought about by simply.forcing the knob- 32 int-0' the lateral branch of the bayonet slot. Thelatch member may be securely retained in any or" its adjusted positionsby simply tightening the knob 32 down upon the easing 2 as it will beobserved that the extension 33 of said knob has a threaded connecionwith the latch device 25. Also, the rear face of the book 27 is providedwith a curved depression 37, by means of which a close engagementbetween the hook 27 and the stud 17 is maintained. Theslot 18 is o'fsufiicient depth. to prevent the stud or pro jectioncl'i from contactingwith its end well. By being thus proportioned the full resilient actionof thesprings 24 and 31 upon the door is brought about. i From theforegoing it will be gathere that the present invention comprehends alamp wherein the door thereof may be quickly and positively connected insecured relationship with the casing 2 by a mere longitudinal insertionof the door upon-said casing and that through the medium of theinterlocking devicedescribed, it will not be necessary to rotate thedoor axially to effect its fastening, as is the case in the majority oflamps of the present construct-ion. Through the provision of themanipulating knob 32 and its associated structure,- convenient means areprovided for locking the door in place, and the means are of suchcharacter as toperinit these looking or unlocking operations to beperformed with but a minimum of labor or exertion. Through theprovisionvof the fastening member Al, the door is conveniently retainedin position during the manipulations of the latch device 25 so that ifnecessary both of the operators hands may be employed in the operationor" said latch devices. Ordinarily, the latter is formed of suchmaterial as to preclude corrosion and thus the possibilit of the device25 rusting in engagement with the projection 17 is eliminated and theoperation of the device thus rendered reliable even after long periodsof disuse. Also,

the Wall 12 ofthe door is extended so as to fully overlie the slot 18and in this manner I moisture is prevented from gaining access of thepositions which said latch device may assume. This construction also hasa tendency to eliminate moisture ironi the lamp. in view of the above itwill be apparent that there is provided :1 structure whereby the Wardsaid casing,

objects of the invention have been achieved and that all of theadvantageous features of construction and operation above pointed outare, among others, present. Essentially,

the present invention provides means Where- 7 by the door may beconnected with the cas- 511 with but a minimum of labor andefiort, oneWhich may be conveniently operated at all times and finally, in theprovision of means :vvhereby a firm sealing contact is maintainedbetween the lens and the reflector gasket.

.What I claim is:

1.:Ztn a vehicle lamp, a casing, an inwardly directed annular flangeformed upon the rim of the casing, a reflector coiiperative with thesource of light carried by said casing, a flange formed upon theperiphery of said reflector and arranged to seat direotly upon saidcasing flange, a lens carrying door/arranged to incase said casing andformed to include a ring shaped body having a beaded edge, means forholding said reflector and casing in locked relationship with said door,comprising a fixed projection carried by said door body and extendinginwardly thereof in substantially parallel relation with said flanges,said casing being provided With a longitudinal slot to receive saidprojection upon inward longitudinal movement of said door, a latchmember movably mounted Within said casing and capable of blocking theentrance to said slot and to retain said projection therein, resilientmeans cooperative'with said latch member and serving to exert alongiludinalpressure on said projection and to thereby draw said doorinto firm contact with said reflector and easing, a resilient hookmember carried by said casing and disposed to engage with the beadededge of said door to assist in drawing that portion of said dooropposite to said projection toand a manipulating element cooperativewith said latch member ann mounted exteriorly' of said casing forpermittin of the actuation of the. latch member.

2. In a vehicle lamp, a casing, a reflector positioned Within saidcasing, a door arranged to inclose said reflector and to hold the latterin secured relationship with said casing, av rig-id projection carriedby said (1001' and arranged to be slidahly received Within a slot formedin said casing, a latch device HHHZJJIY mounted Within said cilsing' andarranged to be projected across the mouth of said slot and, intoengagement with said projection so as to prevent the withdrawal of thehitter from said slot, and resiiient means cobperative with said devicean c'i serving when the latter is} in locked relationship With. saidprojectidn to exercise a pressure upon the letter :50 age to effect theretention of the door in resilient relationship with. said reflector.

In testimony whereof I niv si nature;

JQHN W. Been/N.

